TORONTO -- CTV pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews three movies that were released this week via video on-demand: "Underwater," "Rosie," and "She Never Died."
UNDERWATER: 2 STARS
Who says the âAlienâ franchise is dead? Ridley Scott may have exhausted the storytelling possibilities of the original franchise but donât tell that to Kristen Stewart and the annoying T.J. Miller, stars of the new thriller âUnderwater,â a.k.a. âAquatic Alien.â
Stewart is Norah, an engineer working on a rig at the bottom of the ocean. She and the crew of nautical scientists, (Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, John Gallagher Jr., Mamoudou Athie, Gunner Wright and Miller) are at the mercy of the watery depths when an earthquake destroys their subterranean laboratory. As they fight for survival, they discover they may have woken a fierce enemy. âThis better not be some â20,000 Leagues Under the Seaâ crap,â says Paul (Miller).
On the ocean floor no one can hear you scream, but we can hear lots of heavy breathing as the cast grunt their lines into their deep-sea diving suits.
âUnderwaterâ is an ocean floor, people in peril flick, with loads of wet, claustrophobic atmosphere but little in the way of actual thrills. The earthquake happens in the opening minutes of the film, throwing the characters into danger right off the bat so we donât get to know anything about them other than their ânever say dieâ attitude and Norahâs wondrous ability to squeeze through very tight spaces before the bad stuff happens. There is no emotional connection, just characters navigating the murky depths with the occasional jump scare thrown in. The final showdown with the deep-sea beast has a certain majesty to it, but by then, echoes of better movies like âAlien,â âThe Abyssâ and âLeviathanâ have done in the filmâs chances of making an impression.
Lots of movies have mined similar territory, but the ones that stand out add something interesting to the mix. Unfortunately âUnderwaterâ brings nothing new to the outer space/underwater monster genre.
ROSIE: 4 STARS
Roddy Doyle is best known for writing âThe Commitments,â a comedy-drama with a toe tapping score. His new film, âRosie,â is a much different movie. It wonât make anyone hum âMustang Sallyâ on the way out of the theatre, but should inspire conversation about homelessness.
Sarah Greene is Rosie, mother of four, partner to restaurant cook John Paul (Moe Dunford). The happy north Dublin family lived in a rented home until the landlord sold the house, leaving them stranded. Hopscotching from one hotel to another, they desperately search for new accommodation while trying to camouflage their circumstances from family, friends and their childrenâs teachers. Increased rents and well-meaning, but Kafkaesque assistance bureaucracy, leave this family on the edge of having to live in their car.
âRosieâ is a cautionary tale. A gritty, empathic and timely look at the challenges families face when life takes an unexpected left turn. Doyleâs script, his first original screenplay in over 18 years, never sensationalizes the situation or asks for pity. It simply compassionately presents one familyâs story of woe.
Director Paddy Breathnachâs background in documentary film lends âRosieâ a neo-realist feel that provides an up-close-and-personal portrait of growing desperation. Long, intimate takes bring an uninterrupted sense of the tragedy affecting the family, a feeling that builds throughout the filmâs scant 85 minute running time. To its benefit it is definitely not a feel-good movie. Doyle and Breathnach offer up no easy answers to Rosieâs plight, just pure naturalistic drama with a social consciousness.
SHE NEVER DIED: 3 ½ STARS
âShe Never Died,â a feminist riff on the 2015 horror-comedy âHe Never Died,â stars Oluniké Adeliyi as Lacey, an indestructible, immortal killing machine whose humanity makes her vulnerable.
Lacey lives on the streets, killing people she figures no one will miss. But sheâs not trying to clean up the streets. Far from it. She hunts and kills criminals for food. She gouges out eyes as entrees, and is always careful to remove the fingers for later. âThey fit in my pocket,â she says. âAnd I need the bone marrow.â
When grizzled Detective Godfrey (Peter MacNeill) gets wind of her abilitiesâsurviving a gunshot to the headâhe makes an offer. If sheâll agree to rid the world of the evil brother and sister team of human traffickers (Noah Dalton Danby and Michelle Nolden) heâll find her a decent place to hang her hat.
She agrees, and with the help of Suzzie (Kiana Madeira), a young, streetwise woman rescued from a life of being sold by some very bad men, carnage ensues.
Canadian director Audrey Cummings has made a snazzy horror film with equal parts gore and gags. Itâs not a horror-comedy so to speak, but thanks to some clever scripting, itâs a ton of fun with humour emerging organically out of the unusual situation. Combine that with the filmâs brisk pacing and you have a movie that could become a midnight madness favourite.
âShe Never Diedâ relies on some old school special effects to deliver the bloody stuff, but lo-fi though they may be, they pack a punch.
The blood and guts are fine, but the movieâs strong point is Adeliyiâs work as Lacey. Even though she only has a handful of lines, the film passes the Bechdel test (the film features women who talk to each other about something other than a man) and proves that Adeliyi doesnât need pages of dialogue to create a compelling character. When she isnât in motion, killing the villains, Laceyâs scenes with Suzzie give the film subtext about surviving trauma and the power of community that deepens the story and the characters. Come for the bloodshed, stay for the subtext.
Despite its rather abrupt ending â perhaps itâs meant to whet the appetite for a sequel, but it feels incomplete â âShe Never Diedâ distinguished itself as a good and gory character study, with a style and feel all its own.